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An Opinion by Don Cooley
Let me ask some very simple questions to get a point across:
1. Have you ever had any member of any lists say anything but great things about their doctor and recommended him/her highly?
2. How much do you REALLY know about your doctor who treated you for you initial prostate cancer?
3. Web sites can be very impressive - why?
4. Why would you ever listen to patients that a doctor recommended to you?
1. ANSWER: The answer to the first question is it is VERY rare to have anyone say bad things about their doctor even when they failed the treatment the doctor gave them. There is a real "hero" worship for their doctor - even yet today.
2. ANSWER: The answer to the second question is that you really know very little other than what he/she has told you and very little about the truth of his long term results.
3. ANSWER: The answer to the third question is the websites are prepared by paid professionals who know how to sell any product - if they did not they would not be in business. The website is a SELLING tool first, last and always. It is ADVERTISING and should be given credit as such.
4. ANSWER: The fourth question answer is a no-brained - you should never listen to anyone on a prepared list that any doctor would give to you. Do you think for a minute that the doctor would give you a name of his patient that was unhappy with his treatment - no way!!!
Think about the answers to numbers 1 and 2 above when a patient of a doctor recommends the doctor to you. Think about the answer to number 3 when you are perusing a doctors or clinics or University web site. This is advertising and is no different than any advertising you see when you open your newspaper and see a Macy's ad or visit a website for Ford, General Motors, etc., for example. IT IS ADVERTISING and as such can be and many times is misleading. It tells you only what they want you to know. And question number 4 - not worth a discussion - forget it!!!
Basically all four questions should leave many doubts in your mind when looking for a doctor of substance.
Let me note on thing - the writing of a book does not make one an "Artist" or an "Expert". It may be valuable information for the patient - slanted as it will always be but it is never considered when trying to add a doctor to my thinking of an "Artist". I pay very little attention to what the doctors write in books - usually it is quite dated and almost always slanted to their view. Actually I put the books a step below good solid websites that can be updated daily.
It is these "Artist" that everyone should start from and feel comfortable that you have made a wise decision if you decide they are the ones for you. It truly is your life you are playing with so spend you life wisely by making the right choices. If you have to travel - travel. If you have to dig deep in your pockets to pay - dig deep. But get the best available medical team that you can. For example my medical team was in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Detroit and I live in San Jose. This was 9 years ago when their was not a lot of information on the internet, not many groups, and little in the way of websites - none like Prostate-Help (http://prostate-help.org). The study I did then (5 months of study and two file cabinets full of papers and studies) was the beginning of seeking the best "Artist" available. The study continues to this day.
Did I do the right thing with the extent of the disease that I had - which could be classified as advanced localized disease. The answer to that question is the fact that my PSA bounces around from 0.00 to 0.05 now since treatment in 1997.
And sure their may be and probably is many "experts" out there who are not on lists. But unless they have published their results in a medical journal you never know their level of success. And, by the way, never believe what a doctor says - believe only the proof in studies that he haws produced.
Nuff said!
Page Reviewed and/or Updated:
November 12, 2008
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Information You Should Read
Stanford Univ. video on PCa
The Prostate - What, Where
The Prostate Biopsy
How To Tell a "Physician Artist"
The Doctors Appointment
Insignificant Cancer
Vocabulary, Glossary, etc.
Tables, Tests, Markers etc.
Gleason Info and Partin Tables
PSA - What it is and means
Locally Advanced Cancer
BPH
Prostatitis
Other Diagnostic Tools
Veterans Information
